Rating: 
Website: un-official site
Wisconsin's own Kurt Neumann of the BoDeans has plenty of reasons to release his solo debut. Just when the BoDeans had the chance to grab greater appeal after the success of "Closer to Free", they released the very dissapointing "Blend" cd in 1996. On a personal level, Neumann went through a divorce and lost his very best friend; his dog Shy. This is probably a good time in his life to start writing some introspective songs. The other half of BoDean's songwriting partnership, Sammy Llanas, was the first to release a solo project. With the BoDeans apparantly on hiatus, Kurt finally answered with his own release. He shows off his many talents by performing, singing, writing, and producing the entire cd by himself.
"Shy Dog" starts out brilliantly with the up-beat song "Words". On this track, Neumann addresses his recent split: "Don't say that you miss me, let's not speak of love, don't say anything baby 'cause words ain't enough". Instead of sounding angry and disallusioned, he comes off as positive and hopeful for the future. Problem is, the rest of the cd has to compete with the beautifully written "Words". "Feel" is a fun song that features some great harmonica playing and acoustic guitar work. The "hope for the future" theme is revisited again with this song. "Like I Do" features some clever sythesizer that almost sounds like strings in the background. This is also one of the few times that he shows off his signiture BoDeans style guitar work. But, what works on many songs with this album falls short on a few occasions. "Hopes" starts to wear down the listener by the second time the chorus is heard. "Hapiness" showcases Neumann singing an almost "forced" melody. This song just doesn't seem to "flow" as well as the other songs. The latter half of the album contains pleasant, but somewhat forgettable songs. It doesn't come close to "Words", "Perfect Blue Sky", or the most powerful song on the cd; "Shy Dog". It's a touching tribute to his favorite dog who died shortly after receiving a rattlesnake bite. "You belong with the beautiful" is how Kurt decides to remember his dedicated pet. He also finds out that Shy's personality wasn't too different than his own. I think Kurt feels more of a loss from Shy than his ended marriage!
I'd like to make it clear that I'm not at all dissapointed with "Shy Dog". Compared with the last BoDeans release, it's a much better effort from Neumann. But, what makes it interesting to hear a BoDeans cd is the interplay between Sammy and Kurt's different songwriting and singing style. It's what also makes the Barenaked Ladies and the Beatles so appealing. You don't have to hear the same guy singing every song. With "Shy Dog", there are eight or nine well written songs that would fit well on a BoDeans record; interplayed with some Llanas songs as well. Hopefully, this will inspire the three guys on the BoDeans to come together soon and release a new album.
